Cedar Point’s Mean Streak at end of line

Cedar Point’s Mean Streak at end of line

SANDUSKY — Cedar Point is bringing down the axe on its largest wooden coaster to make way for future development in the amusement park’s Old West themed Frontier Town section.

Park officials announced Monday that Mean Streak, which opened in 1991 as a $7.5 million world record breaker, will shut down for good on Sept. 16.

“Mean Streak has [been] and always will be a significant part of our roller coaster legacy at Cedar Point,” said Jason McClure, vice president and general manager for Cedar Point. “But we have our sights set on the future of Frontier Town, and unfortunately, that means Mean Streak has to leave our lineup of world-class attractions.”

Officials declined to say what might take its place at the Sandusky park, the flagship of park owner Cedar Fair LP, which owns amusement and water parks across the United States. 

But some coaster fans think the park may be planning a retrofit on Mean Streak, similar to what the park did by turning the stand-up Mantis into the floorless Rougarou over the 2014 offseason.

The demise of Mean Streak will leave one traditional wooden coaster, the Blue Streak, and a total of 17 roller coasters at Cedar Point.                                   

From afar, the unpainted Mean Streak looks like an elaborate model made of matchsticks. Up close, it’s imposing, standing 161 feet tall. 

When Mean Streak opened, it was the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. Those titles have since been lost.

The ride was built in the tradition of the golden era wooden coasters that sprung up across America in the 1920s and 1930s, but it wasn’t as well-liked as many traditional coasters.

“I think there’s a lot of care and love for wood coasters, just not that wood coaster,” said Jeff Putz who runs the popular PointBuzz.com, a fan site about Cedar Point.

There has been discussion for months on PointBuzz about the ride’s future, with some anticipating a closure announcement before now. Mr. Putz said Mean Streak didn’t rank high on the list of most coaster fans, even among those who like the old-school wooden rides.

“If you’re objectively looking at the park’s lineup of roller coasters, there’s only one you could describe as being not ideal in terms of popularity and excitement and everything else,” he said.

Unlike most modern metal coasters, wooden coasters run on flat steel rails running over laminated wood. The design produces a different feeling for riders than the tubular steel rails that most new coasters use. They also take a lot more maintenance, with employees walking the track daily.

“Much like the wood in your home, it expands and contracts with the weather changes, so they’re more labor-intensive than our other rides. They’re ‘living and breathing’ machines that are an important part of amusement park history,” said Tony Clark, a spokesman for the park.

Keeping wooden coasters running does take a lot of effort, but Mr. Clark said it wasn’t a factor in the decision to close the ride, reiterating the park’s desire to further develop Frontier Town.

Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services Inc. in Cincinnati, said these are the decisions park operators have to make when they want to do something new.

“Property’s at a premium and a wooden coaster like this takes up a tremendous amount of property,” he said.

Though Mr. Speigel suspects the ride will come down completely, there are some park fans who say Cedar Point is dropping clues that Mean Streak will continue on in some fashion.

As Cedar Point did when it was announcing the closure of Mantis, the park released a somewhat cryptic video dramatically announcing the end of Mean Streak. 

Mr. Putz said a number of wooden coasters like Mean Streak have been successfully converted into hybrid coasters which place tubular rails on wooden structures.

Mr. Clark declined to comment on anything about the park’s future plans.

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